The Penn's Grove record., 1887-01-08
DUCKS n f
Some Of the Natural Pecuiiarities Of
the Game Now in Season.

The duck and goose shooting season
commenced with the past month, to
all Intents and purposes and the fine
birds that are now thronging the bays
and inlets all along the coast, every water
tank in the San Gabriel having its
quota of ducks and geese. The cause
of this seemingly sudden appearance
of the birds is the beginning of the fall
migration, these and many other birds
leaving the North and Tetreat1ng to the
warmer countries of the South. They
fy, as a rule, in iocks-the peculiar
triangular and other shapes being ia
miliar to all. AT this time thousands
are killed off for the market, and the
family parties are often broken uD be-
fore the long journey is ended.
Scientifically the ducks belong to the
family anatInR. the tree. river and sea
ducks being the familiar forms. There
are many interesting facts about them
not generally known. One of the most
beautiful is the wood duck, common in
many parts of the country and particu-
larly interesting from the peculiar care
they seem to take of their young. They
often build in trees along the banks of
streams, and when the young appear 1t
would seem something of a puzzle how
to get them safely to the water, as of
all creatures Il young duck on land is
the most u%ngainly; but the mother
woodduck overcomes the difficulty by
taking the ducklings In her bill and fly
ing with them, one by one. to the water.
The Canada goose IS said to have been
observed to do the same thing with its
young.
The ducks are all noted for their
beautiful plumage, many having rich
metallic hues and tint5. Perhaps The
little Chinese Mandarin duck is as at
tractiye as any, and in China it affords
fine shooting, though being hard to fol-
low. a friend Of the writer who is in
business in the Celestial Empire, has
made some attempts to introduce them
into this country, but as few sportsmen
would resist the temptation to shoot so
curious q creature, IN all probability
they were soon killed off.
But tine shooting IS not strictly con-
fined to these game BIRDS, as with them
come many divers, cranes. herons and
killdeers, many of which are ine eat
ing. An old hunter once told me when
we were crane shooting together out on
the Florida reef that he had seen a
crane whose breast was illuminated
with q pale. phosphorescent light, so
that as the animal stood in the marsh
the light was reflected upon 1t. and
small fishes being attracted, fell a victim
to their curiosity. To show that he
was correct he pointed out the powder
down spot on the breast of a bird we
had; and certainly with its greasy, oily
nature and the yellow decomposed
features, the spot might well become
slightly luminous under certain condi-
lions. l think l have heard of another
or perhaps two more instances of this
kind. i have never heard Of its being
seen by a trained observer or naturalist
who was positive that the luminous
matter elimited from the powder-down
patch was the breast of the bird. 1t
would be interesting to know if such
an occurrence has been observed on
this coast. Mr.. Harris. an associate of
Mr.. Wakeley, of Pasadena, and a we'll
known collector of birds, informed me
that once when visiting a herony on
the Maine coast he noticed numbers of
pale lights moving about, which he
thought belonged or were attached to
the herons. These certainly were not
llredies, being too large; and while he
could not testify that it was a "bird
it certainly looked very much
like it. In all the breast powder
down patches of these birds examined
by the writer, they could well become
luminous-ia fact, from their peculiar
nature it would be very strange If they
did not.
The most conspicuous birds now ly-
ing over are the sand hill cranes, large
hoeks being seen every day, and indl-
viduals being shot from time to time
near the reservoirs. Their flight is
very beautiful and much like that of
the wild goose, one bird leading the
rest ranging off in regular order on
either side. Their flight as observed
from the Sierra Madre foothills is a
literal flying down hill. The birds first
attain a height of a mile or so above
the sea by flying round and round ut
tering loud cries that can be heard for
a long distance-at least three miles
with the wind. In the ascending
movement they present a magnificent
appearance. AS they turn, their white
silyery feathers catch the sun ana a
galaxy of stars is seen, scintillating for
a moment and then disappearing, to re-
appear higher up. This circling is
continued until a sufficient elevation is
attained, when they form In line and
shoot away, literally soaring down
HILL" covering perhaps five miles of
country, perhaps more, before 1t is
to rise again-and in these
repeated ~ascensions and slides they at
tain the land of promise, which to
them at present is a warm country for
the winter months.
The Unmarried Widower.